


Iron Family

by PeachyKeener



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Bi Peter Parker, F/M, Gay Harley Keener, Good Parent Tony Stark, M/M, More tags will come, Over Protective, Tony Stark is Harley Keener's biological dad, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, a comp of moments through the starks lives, agender harley keener, but a good dad, he also really likes peter, he just, this is just, tony is an over protective dad, uhhh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-23 09:43:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20006248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachyKeener/pseuds/PeachyKeener
Summary: Ana Jarvis said, that if she ever had a son, she would name him Harley. It was such a stupid small memory but he remembered it. And he kissed his baby’s forehead and whispered, “Heya Harley Tyler Stark... nice to meet you.”And Harley, with wide blue eyes, laughed.





	Iron Family

**Author's Note:**

> NO BETA WE DIE LIKE MEN 
> 
> wow i wrote the first part of this in like,,, three months ago, and the rest in like two days
> 
> anyway i really like this and hope y'all do to, this first chapter is just a few snipps, and the next chapter will be Hoco, a lot more details, and then :)

Tony Stark was prepared for a lot of things on the morning of April 28th.    
  
He was prepared for board meetings, and for Pepper to yell at him, and a party, or something. He was prepared for people trying to get in his pants and take his money. He was prepared for a lot of things.    
  
He wasn’t prepared for Audrey Keener- his ex girlfriend- to be in his office.    
  
And he definitely wasn’t prepared for the blue bundle in her arms.    
  
“Audrey,” he greeted warmly, “What do I owe the pleasure?”    
  
She didn’t smile, “He’s yours.”    
  
“What-“    
  
“This fucking kid,” she held her arms out to Tony, jostling the baby violently, “Is yours.”    
  
He took the baby, away from Audrey. He’d broken up with her because of how unstable she was- and seeing how she was holding this baby, it just confirmed it.    
  
He gulped, “Are you- are you sure?”    
  
“You’re the only person I’ve slept with,” she deadpanned, “So yes I’m sure.”    
  
“Are you- are you sure you want to give him up?”    
  
“You think I  _ want _ that disgusting cesspool?”    
  
“He’s not disgusting,” Tony whispered, as his sleeping son relaxed in his arms, gripping at his finger, “He’s beautiful.”    
  
She shook her head, “He was born on the sixteenth. I haven’t named him yet. I don’t plan to.”    
  
“You don’t-“ Tony felt himself grow angry at her, but tried to stay calm for the baby in his arms, “You didn’t name him?! What’s wrong with you?!”    
  
“Nothing,” she just shrugged, placing every legal document she had about the baby on his desk, and a few bottles of milk, “He’s yours now. Not my kid, not my problem.”    
  
And she goes to walk out, leaving a stunned silence in her wake. Tony just didn’t know what to say. She hesitates at the door, “Don’t name him after Howard... I’ve always liked Tyler.”    
  
And then she’s gone, leaving a baby boy in his arms.    
  
And the boy woke up, yawning, but not crying. He had curious blue eyes, and tufts of curly blonde hair. He was the most beautiful thing Tony had ever seen.    
  
Ana Jarvis said, that if she ever had a son, she would name him Harley. It was such a stupid small memory but he remembered it. And he kissed his Baby’s forehead and whispered, “Heya Harley Tyler Stark... nice to meet you.”    
  
And Harley, with wide blue eyes, laughed.    
  
Tony Stark was prepared for a lot of things on the morning of April 28th, but he wasn’t prepared for his life to change so dramatically.    
  


“Daddy!” 

Tony pulled away from his desk, grinning at his five year old son, “Harley! Come to say hi?” 

“Nope,” The blond boy grinned back, and despite the fact that his son looked nothing like him, it was moments like this that Tony cherished. Moments where Harley’s grin was so much like his, when his eyes sparkled with something more, and Tony was reminded of himself, “Came ‘o show you ‘his!” 

He laughed as Harley grabbed his hand, sticking his tongue out at the business men who were now giving Tony dirty looks, and Tony just laughed, waving them away, “Sorry boys, my son wants to show me something.” 

“Common!” 

“I’m coming, Harls,” He told his son patiently as he dragged him through the halls and into the elevator, “What did you want to show me kiddo?” 

“I buil’ an engine!” 

Tony blinked, “That's awesome bud!” 

At most Tony was expected Harley to have built a toy engine- even then, he was so proud of his little mechanic. Harley was smarter than anyone he knew, and he adored him. Harley could talk circles around him, and was already the smartest boy that Tony had ever had the pleasure of meeting. He still wasn’t aloud in the lab though- too many sharp objects that could hurt him. 

He still blanched when Harley led him past the child safety part of his lab and into the corner where a whole ass car engine- from what Tony could tell, not a flaw in place. 

Tony whistled, swooping up Harley and kissing him on the cheek, “Harley!” 

“Look!” he giggled as his father spun him around, “I made an engine!” 

“Its perfect, baby,” He kissed Harley’s cheek again, making the boy laugh, “You deserve so much Ice cream, bud, this is amazing!” 

Harley did a fist pump, squirming in his dad’s arms, “Does ‘his mean you can ge’ ou’ of ‘hose s’inky meetings now ‘ah’ I’m so smar’?”

“Buddy,” He smiled at his son, “You say the word and im always out of those stinky meetings.” 

“Yesh!” Harley did another fist pump, “Can we ge’ burger king?” 

“Yeah, bud, we can.”    
  


Burger King was Harley’s favorite place for dinner- and it was Tony’s favorite place for that very reason. Another reason why it was Tony’s is that every time Harley ate a burger king burger, he was out like a light for the rest of the night. 

He loved his son to bits and pieces but he was more hyperactive than Tony himself, and getting him to sleep was a nightmare. Late to sleep, early to rise. But watching his son sleep was one of Tony’s favorite things in the entire world. 

His kid was the best. Despite the fact that he didn’t look anything like Tony- that he looked like Audrey reborn- he was so much of Tony’s kid. He was the smartest, kindest, brightest boy of his age, and Tony adored him. 

He put together a fully functional engine at the age of five. 

His brilliant son. 

He kissed Harley’s forehead and tucked him in tighter. 

He looked foreward to the day he was known as Harley Stark’s father.    
  


~~ \------ ~~

“Hey, come on bud,” He clasped Harley’s shoulder, drawing his pouting son into a hug, “It’s just for a week.” 

Harley frowned at him still, “I don’t care.” 

“Harley-” 

“I don’t like it,” The eight year old huffed, “You shouldn’t have to go and prove your weapons work- you’re the best they’ve got and they shouldn’t demand you go and prove it.” 

Pepper smiled at Harley, though she hid it behind her hand and- not for the first time- Tony rolled his eyes at her. She indulged his son way to much- though coming from him that was practically priceless. He pulled away from Harley, squatting to be eye level, “I have to go, Harls.” 

“Then why can’t I come with you?” 

He was  _ not  _ letting his son come to an active war zone, no matter how safe it was gonna be. He sighed, “We talked about this, Buddy, you got to stay in school, okay?” 

“Fine.” 

“It’ll be okay,” he assured his son, “I’ll be back before you know it.” 

“I don’t like it when you leave.” 

“I know, baby, but I gotta.” 

“No you don’t,” Harley pouted again, “You could stay here.” 

“Harley,” He was trying to be firm with his son, griping both of his shoulders gently so that he would look at him, “I need to go, but I’ll be back. I’ll be fine. I love you, kiddo.” 

Harley just pulled away from his dad and stormed into his room. He sighed. 

Sometimes Harley was just a little too much like him. But Afghanistan would be fine.    
  
  


It was not fine. 

If getting Harley was the best thing in his life, Afghanistan was the worst. 

By the time Rhodey found him in the desert, the only thing he was certain about was that he needed to see his son again.    
  


Rhodey had to help him off the plane, his footwork being unsteady. But he didn’t care about footwork, when he was finally  _ home _ . He was safe. He could see Harley, and Pepper, and Happy, and he was safe. They were safe. 

Well they will be, he thought to himself, when I cancel the weapons program to ensure the worlds safety. 

But for new, as the plane landed, he felt safe. He felt like he was about to be home. His son was there, on the ground, and that’s all that mattered. 

“You ready, Tony?” 

He turned to Rhodey, “I just want to see my son.” 

“Yeah,” he nodded, helping Tony stand, “I figured as much. He’s been making himself sick with worry.” 

“God,” his eyes stung with emotions, “He was the only thing keeping me going in that damned cave.” 

Rhodey looked like he wanted to ask more, but ended up just nodding again, “Common, Tones, let’s get you home.” 

And with that they stepped out of the plane. Pepper was waiting a little ways away from the plane, looking like she hasn’t slept in ages, with glassy eyes. Harley was tucked into her side, watching the plane with anxious eyes, as if waiting for visual confirmation that his dad was okay. Tony quickened his pace to get off the stairs, as Harley broke away from Pepper, and bolted towards his dad. 

His son nearly tackled him, “Dad!” 

“Harley,” He tried not to flinch in pain at his sons tight grip, returning it with one of his own, “You’re okay-“ 

“Am I okay?!” Harley was crying hysterically, trying to remain calm but failing, “You were kidnapped!” 

“I know kiddo, I know.” 

“Are you okay?! What happened?! How did you get out?! What’s that light in your chest-“ 

“Harley,” Pepper chided softly, placing a hand on his shoulder but not pulling him away from Tonys grasp, “Your dad might not wanna talk about that right now.” 

Tony nodded at her, a silent thanks for noticing his distress at the questions, “I promise I’ll talk about it with you when I can, but you know what I want right now?” 

“What?” Harley sniffed. 

“A cheese burger,” He grinned at Harley, who in turn let out a snotty giggle, “Wanna go to Burger King, bud?” 

Harley nodded, not pulling away from the hug they were in. Tony looked at Pepper, “Thank you, Pep.” 

The unspoken  _ for taking care of him _ was something neither of them would ever talk about. They never talked about how Pepper was next in line for guardianship if something ever happened to him. It just wasn’t something they talked about. But Pepper got the message. 

“You’re welcome, Tony,” she smiled at him tight lipped, her hand still on Harley’s shoulder. To anyone looking in, they must have looked like a family. 

Tony pulled away from the group first, “So, Burger King?” 

“Burger King,” Harley sniffed again, and Tony was starting to suspect he was wiping his snot all over Tony's shirt. 

“And then,” he looked at Pepper, “A press conference.” 

She bit back an obvious smile, “Will that be all, Mr. Stark?” 

“I think so, Ms. Potts.” 

~~ ——  ~~

  
  


His first thought after waking up from the worm hole was ‘Oh fuck, Pepper is gonna kill me for getting myself almost killed. Again.’

The next thing he remembered was, ‘Oh god, I hope Harley’s okay.’

And then the  _ next _ thought was what came out of his mouth, “Does anyone want Shwarma?” 

And this was the beginning of his friendship with the avengers. Which quickly turned from friendship to, “Hey I have several empty floors in my tower if you guys need a place to stay.” Which quickly turned to, “Hey my place is your place you can live with me.” 

And he had expected  _ some _ resistance from Harley. Just not this much. 

See, he loved his kid; the ten year old was smarter than anyone he had ever met, with the Stark personality, and the sweetest disposition ever- when he wanted something at least. But Harley, his brilliant clever Harley, did  _ not _ like Steve Rogers or Natasha Romanoff. 

Both adults in question had no idea what they did to piss off the boy genius- especially because Harley  _ adored _ Clint, Bruce, and Thor. 

And really, he should have seen this coming. 

But he really needed to have a talk with his son about not pulling pranks on their house guests. 

Natasha stood in front of him covered in blue paint, arms crossed, and even though her face was pissed off, she was clearly amused, “Harley’s smart.” 

“I could have told you that,” Tony snorted and the now  _ Blue _ Widow, “But why are you saying that?” 

“He managed to pull one over on me- a highly trained spy.” 

“Oh yeah, just wait till he convinces the rest of them to get on it.” 

“Could he?” 

“Couldn’t he?” 

She cracked a grin, “Probably. Kids good at manipulating.”

“Oh joy,” Tony deadpanned, before tossing Natasha a rag, “I’m sorry he’s pranking you like this.” 

“I don’t have a problem with it,” she hesitated, “I kinda find it charming. I’m just wondering- why me and Steve?” 

“Honestly- I'd like to know that too.”    
  


After a few more pranks- chilli powder in the underwear, llamas dressed up as the avengers, a cat-ain America, getting Thor to get one of his asgardian friends to magically make all of Steve’s furniture dance, etc etc etc- Tony couldn’t take it anymore. 

Harley adored Bruce- has asked Bruce to teach him all that he knew. He acted like Bruce Banner  _ and _ his mean green friend were the best thing ever. 

He thought Clint was the funniest guy ever- Harley had taken to sign language like he took to math and science, and the two talked in it constantly. Clint was also the coolest because he was  _ helping _ Harley with his pranks. 

And Thor was the literal god of lightening- Harley had taken to riding in top of his shoulders and getting Thor to fly, much to Tony's poor poor heart. 

But the other two, Harley despised. Well he was warming up to Natasha, but Steve? Nope. Kid didn’t even  _ come _ when it was Steve’s turn for movie night which sucked because Steve absolutely thought Harley was the best thing since sliced bread. The entire situation was weird, and Tony was tired of it. 

“Harley,” He sighed sharply, “Can you wait after dinner?” 

The team stopped chattering, and his son looked up at him with a raised brow, “Did I do something wrong?” 

“I just need to speak with you about something, kiddo,” His eyes flicked over his team, “Steve, and ‘Tasha can you two stay as well?” 

Both adults nodded, and all four of the people in question staying, while the rest of the team flittered out. Tony sighed, and rubbed his brow, “I asked you three to stay because I need to get to the bottom of something.” 

“Oh?” Natasha raised an eyebrow, “I wasn’t aware Steve and I did anything?” 

“You guys didn’t, but are part of the problem,” His eyes flicked to Harley, “Bud, do you have something to say to them?” 

Harley’s blue eyes flicked over them before returning to his plate, “Nope, I don’t.” 

“Harley.” 

“I don’t have anything to say to them.” 

“Harley Tyler Stark.” 

“What?” His furrowed his brows at his dad, “What do you want me to say? To apologize to them? No thanks.” 

Steve stayed silent, but Natasha’s brow quirked up slightly, “Personally, I would just like to know why us.” 

“Nope.” 

“Harley,” Tony’s voice was a warning, “I’m doing this because you cannot be so blatantly rude to our guests.” 

“Can’t I?” 

“Tony,” Steve spoke up, “Its really okay-” 

“Shut up, Mr. Spangled, no one was talking to you.” 

Tony stood up, placing his hands on the table, “Okay that is  _ enough  _ Harley! Tell me why you’ve been treating them like this- Why not Clint? Why not Thor? Why just them!”

“She lied to you!” He pointed his finger at Natasha, face angry and red, “She lied to you! And then she called you narcissistic and said you weren’t a team player! She conducted a profiling and said that you weren’t fit- ALL WHILE YOU WHERE BEING POISONED! SO YEAH! I DON’T LIKE HER VERY MUCH!” 

Harley was screaming, his ten year old face scrunching up angrily, “AND STEVE- STEVE’S WHY GRANDPA- WHY HE-” 

“Oh,” Tony breathed, suddenly feeling so much love for the little boy who clearly hacked into SHIELD in order to read up on his new house mates, and came to conclusions, “Harls.”

“They don’t deserve to be here when they don’t respect you!” 

“Harley,” Tony hummed, “They respect me just fine. Natasha was doing her job, and didn’t mean any harm. Steve had no control over my father. Neither of those things are their fault, and its unfair to blame it on them,” He paused, “And even if it was their fault, I’ve forgiven both of them.”

“I wanna hear them apologize. And then _ maybe _ I’ll apologize.”

Tony sent both of them pleading looks. Harley stuck them both with a gaze that Tony was almost 100% certain he had learned from Pepper. Natasha just shrugged, “I’d actually been meaning to apologize for that time anyway. So Tony, I’m sorry about that entire… incident.”

“Apology one thousand percent not necessary,” Harley shoots him a look and he sighs, “But its okay.”

“And now Rogers.”   


“I’m uh,” Steve furrowed his brow, “Sorry that you feel like i don’t respect you and will do my best to fix that.”

Harley nodded, satisfied in only the way a ten year old could be, “Alright then I  _ guess  _ I’m sorry that I pranked you guys. I’m not gonna stop, but now I’ll just make it everyone- 'cause me and Clint got plans, big plans.”    


With that he slipped out of his chair, pecked Tony on the cheek, and rushed out of the room, grinning like a mad man. Tony sighed, “Well, at least he doesn’t hate you two anymore?”

“Oh,” Steve smiled at him, “Good because that kid is amazing.”

“Don’t I know it.”

And Tony did know it. His stupid loveable protective son. Who, he realized, should probably be in actual trouble for this, but all he could think about was the warmth in his soul when he realized just how much his son cared about him.    
  


~~ ——  ~~

“Dad,” Harley grinned, throwing himself down on the couch, his cheeks pink and hair windswept, “Today I got mugged.”

Tony blinked. Tony turned to look at his son. Tony paused. The information was processing, processing, processing- “Excuse me  __ what?!”  
  
“Today I got mugged,” Harley sighed, dreamily, “And met the most amazing super hero ever.”

“I’m sorry, can you please repeat that- you got MUGGED?!” 

“Tha'ts not the important part.” 

“Are you hurt?! Are you okay?! Why didn’t you press your panic button?! Why didn't you activate your armor-”   
  
“Because,” Harley interrupted, rolling his eyes in a way only the fourteen year old could, “I was  _ saved.”  _

Tony paused his worrying, his brow furrowed, “Saved? By who? You know you’re not allowed in hell's kitchen so if it was any of the defenders-” 

“Don’t get your panties in a twist old man, I wasn’t in hell's kitchen,” His son huffed, standing up and walking over to the mini fridge on the other side of the room, “I was in Queens. And a very cool and nice hero named Spider-Man helped saved me when they pulled a knife.” 

“Spider-Man?” Tony questioned his eyes narrowing, “How come I’ve never heard of him?”   
  
Harley hummed, choosing a Capri-Sun and taking a sip before answering, “Dunno- he looked pretty new to the hero scene. He was in some sort of onesie, pretty lame, but dad- you should have  _ seen  _ him.” 

“What I would like to see is you not getting mugged.” 

“You’re the one who makes me wear designer clothes.” 

“You are actually the one who picks out your clothes, so ha.”

“Either way,” Harley rolled his eyes, giving a very pointed look to Tony, “The kid couldn’t have been two years older than me, and he was so  _ witty,  _ and quick on his feet, and he held his own with my banter, and it’s  _ love,  _ clearly.” 

“Um,” Tony held up a hand, “You are not in love with some boy you just met that saved you from a mugging- wait he was wearing a onesie?”

“Yep. Dire need for an upgrade.”   


“You said he was about your age- how did you know?”

“His voice. He can’t be older than 16, but he’s probably no younger than 14.”

“So you are telling me, that there is some kid out there, stopping muggings from happening in nothing but a onesie.” 

“Well,” Harley paused, trying to think of what to say, “Not exactly. He’s definitely got super strength- he can stick to walls, from what I’ve seen. Oh yeah, and he has these super high tensile web like strings that come from some sort of wrist thing he has- very cool, very high tech for a kid swinging around in a onesie. He was,” Harley paused, the light pink blush on his face returning in full force, “Absolutely perfect. He picked me up and carried me to the tower by way of web slinging, and oh my god, it was so amazing-”

“Wait so-” Tony’s brow furrowed deeper, “You’re actually in love with the super hero you just met?”

“Is that an issue?” 

“Course not, kiddo, just wondering if you’ll ever see him again- especially with everything going on with the accords.”    


“Oh right- how’s that going?” 

Tony paused. As a general rule he didn’t really talk to Harley about Super hero stuff, but the accords had been in the news for years, and even if they hadn’t, Harley fucked with the pentagon security on a daily basis, “Well… Its not going good. I managed to strangle out some protections for super powered individuals, and I definitely see where these guys are coming from when they say they want us to have limitations but… I’m not sure everyone is going to see it that way.” 

Steve’s name hung in the air thickly. Harley however just shrugged, “Do you think you can get some protections for super powered minors, things that could help them you know- not be targeted by police and such.” 

“Oh yeah, that was one of the first things I did,” He shrugged, finally going back to his work all worry over his son being hurt leaving his body, “But now its just a matter of what more I can get, more to even the playing field.” 

“You’ll get it dad,” Harley hummed, patting his shoulder, “For now, I’m gonna go design a Spider-Man suit.” 

“What-”

“Oh please,” Harley rolled his eyes, “The second I mentioned him I knew you’d wanna see this hero in some sort of protective gear thingy- who knows maybe you’ll end up hiring him or something.”

“Or something,” Tony says dryly, “I’m not upgrading this kid just because you have a school boy crush.”   


“Whatever. Maybe I’ll make some custom spider-man merch too, while I’m at it.” 

Tony rolled his eyes as Harley left the lab. Stupid kid and his crushes. At least he didn’t get mugged.

  
  
  


Tony couldn’t believe he was doing this. Was this irresponsible parenting? He sighed, stepping into Peter Parker’s room. The kid fidgeting nervously, “Um… I definitely did not apply for your grant-”

“Nu uh,” He held up a finger, putting his bravado on full display, “Me first- quick question of the rhetorical variety,” He held up his phone, projecting a video of the Spider-Man, “That's  _ you  _ right?”

Of course, Tony knew it was in fact the kid in front of him. The second Harley had told him about Spider-Man he had immediately tracked down his identity, and from what he found Peter Parker was your average kid: went to an uber smart nerd school that Tony now wanted Harley to go to with the realization it would probably be the safest place since this new hero was here, was on his Academic Decathlon team, Marching band, robotics team, over all just a smart normal kid. Who just so happened to be moonlighting as a super hero. Go figure. 

“Um, that's not- that's not me-”

“Course it is,” His eyes flicked to the screen then back to Peter, “Wow look at you go. Nice catch. That's what- three thousand pounds?” 

Peter shifted, walking around Tony, looking nervous and not meeting his eye, “That’s all on youtube though right? Cause that’s where you found that right? Cause you know that’s all fake, all done on a computer?” 

“Mhm.” 

“Its like that video-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Tony took the baseball bat, gently prodding at a hidden door, “You mean like those UFOs over phoenix?”

The suit popped down, and Tony almost smirked as Peter quickly launched himself at the suit, pushing it into his closet with a ‘Nope.’ He leaned against the wall looking more nervous then ever and Tony rolled his eyes, “So- you’re the Spiderling- Crime fighting Spider. Spider-boy.” 

“Its,” Peter crossed his arms defensively, “Its Spider-Man.”

“Not in that onesie you’re not.” 

“I can’t believe this,” Peter moved away, heading towards his desk and leaning on the chair, “And you know I was having a really good day today- Didn’t miss my train, this perfectly good DvD player was just sitting there-” He tapped a pencil to his desk a few times, “And Algebra test- nailed it.” 

“Who else knows- anybody?” Peter shook his head, “Not even your unusually attractive aunt?” 

“No,” Peter looked defensive, pointing towards the door lightly, “No, no, if she knew she would freak out- and whens he freaks out I freak out-”

“You know what I think is really cool,” He tossed the webbing at Peter as hard as he could. Peter caught it without looking, “This webbing. The tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured that?” 

“I did."   
  
“Climbing the walls- how are you doing that?”   


“Its a, a long story, I was uh-”

“Lordy! Can you even see through these?” 

“Yes,” Peter ripped the suit away from Tony defensively, putting it back in his closet, “Yes, I can! I can. I can-I can see in those. Okay? It's just that- when whatever happened, happened- it's like my senses have been dialled to 11. There's way too much input, so… they just kinda help me focus.”

“You're in dire need of an upgrade. Systemic, top to bottom. 100-point restoration. That's why I'm here.”

Peter stopped moving, trading it for sitting on the bed and staring at Tony, and for a second, just a split second, all Tony could think about was Harley. The hopeful and cautious look on Peter’s face was often mirrored on Harley’s and looking at this kid, all he could think about was his own. 

He sighed, “Why you doing this? I gotta know. What's your MO? What gets you outta that twin bed in the morning?”

“Well,” Peter was fidgeting, “Because l've been me my whole life, and l've had these powers for 6 months.”

“Mhmm.”

“I read books, I build computers… And-And yeah. I would love to play football. But I couldn't then so I shouldn't now.”

“Sure, because you're different.”

“Exactly. But I can't tell anybody that, so I'm not. When you can do the things that I can, but you don't,” Peter hesitated hard, “And  _ then  _ the bad things happen… they happen because of you.”

Jesus, Tony felt for this kid. The amount of pressure he must have been feeling at any given moment almost made Tony’s already very fragile heart break. Again, this boy reminded him of his son.

“So you wanna look out for the little guy,” He said, instead of any of the things he was thinking, and moved to sit down on the bed, “You wanna do your part? Make the world a better place, all that, right?”

“Yeah- yeah- look out for the little guy,” Peter’s face went bright red, as if he had a sudden realization, “Did- did you come here because I saved Harley?” 

Tony let out a laugh, “While that did put you on my radar, I didn’t come here because you saved my son. Which, was a menace of a thing to do, considering now he’s ordering custom Spider-Man merchandise.” 

“Oh,” Peter squeaked, and Tony had a feeling that whenever these two met again, it was going to be so much worse and more blushy, “Does he know that I’m- does he know- who I-”

“Does Harley- my  _ son-  _ know that you, Peter Parker are Spider-Man?” 

Peter looked at the ground with wide eyes and bright red ears as he emphasized the ‘son’ part of his comment, and Tony took that as the right question to ask, “No. He doesn’t know I’m here, and he defiently doesn’t know about you being Spider-Man. That’s your secret to tell.” 

“Okay… thanks.” 

“I will say though, whatever little thing is going through your stupid teenage brain about my son needs to stop or we won’t be working together.”

“What?” Peter looked up, eyes wider and face redder than before, “I would never- I don’t- working together?” 

Tony hummed, bypassing the question to instead ask, “You ever been to Germany?”

“No?”

“Oh, you'll love it.”

“I can't go to Germany!”

“Why not?”

“I got- I got homework.”

“I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that.”

“I'm-I'm being serious! I can't just drop out of school!”

He stood up, reaching for the door, “Might be a little dangerous. Better tell Aunt Hottie I'm taking you on a field trip.”

“Don’t,” Peter shot out a web, sticking his hand to the door, “Don’t tell aunt may.” 

Tony observed the kid. He was small, but would probably shoot up in a few years. He was also strong too. Clearly had a good heart, and all that. But he was still just a kid. And Tony knew he would want to know if Harley had ever gotten himself into something like he was about to drag Peter into. 

“Okay,” he sighed softly, “But you tell her eventually, when this becomes more of a thing.”

Peter met his eyes, “Okay.” 

“Now get this shit off me.” 

  
  


Tony was relaxing on the private plane, watching Peter play with his new suit, planning for what was about to happen. Obviously, it’d be just talking and stuff, but if things got out of hand, he needed a way to get the kid out of there. So he was planning, thinking, brooding- 

“Dad,” Harley snarled, storming into the plane, causing everyone in it to stop, “What the  _ fuck?!” _

Tony sighed, “Hey, Bud.” 

“You’re going to  _ Germany,”  _ Harley growled, throwing an accusatory finger in his face, “To fight Steve and Clint and everyone, and you just thought you  _ wouldn’t  _ tell me?!”

“Well-”

“No! No ‘well’,” Harley threw his hands up dramatically, because his son was a lot of things, and overdramatic accounted for almost all of them, “You didn’t tell me! And even more! You’re going in there half baked with one member less! Which means you should let me break out my armor-” 

“Um, actually Harls,” He raised a patient brow at his son, “I have another member.” 

Harley put a hand on his hip, mirroring a stance that Pepper took whenever Tony was being particularly annoying, and Tony wondered if she was where he found this out from, “Oh really?” 

“Harley Tyler Stark,” He smoothly motioned to where Peter stood awkwardly in his Spider-Man costume, “Meet the other unofficial member of Team Iron Man, Spider-Man.” 

Harley froze. He slowly turned his entire body to face Spider-Man, his cheeks turning a vivid and bright shade of red, “Oh.” 

“Hi,” Peter breathed, awkwardly sticking his hand out, “I’m man spider- I mean- I’m- I’m Spider-Man.” 

Harley giggled- he actually giggled- and shook Peter’s hand, “I know. You probably don’t remember but you saved-” 

“I saved you awhile back,” The kid was so awkward that every other person on the plane cringed, “Of course I remember.” 

Harley, didn’t even notice the awkwardness, too enamored with the boy in front of him, “Cool, cool, thats- I never got to thank you-”

“Okay,” Tony stood, clasping a hand on Harley’s shoulder, sarcasm dripping from his voice, “As much as I enjoy watching my son and my protege flirt, we need to get going, and you need to get back to the tower.”

“Why don’t I get to come with?”

“Because I told Riri you would be here,” Tony dead pans, referring to the girl who had helped him out during the mandiran incident who had become one of Harley’s closest friends, “So she’s coming up.”

“But what if something goes wrong- you could use the extra suit-”

“No, Harley. It’ll be fine. Now get on land before I call Pepper to drag you.”

His son sent a withering glare to him, and glanced in a longing look at Spider-Man. He tried to ignore that last part, because he was right. 

Germany would be fine. 

Germany, as it turns out was fine. Siberia, however, was not. 

“Why is it,” Harley whispered from the chair next to his hospital bed, “Whenever you say something will be fine, it ends up being a clusterfuck.”

“Language.”   


“Hardy har,” Harley said dryly, “I’m going to kill every single one of them.”

Tony blinked up at his son, “You don’t mean that.”

“Look around you. Of course I mean that.”

“We’ll design Rhodey new legs.”

“He caved in your  _ chest,”  _ Harley’s hands were shaking, a nervous tick he knew Harley picked up from him, “You almost died. Again. He knew your chest was bad. Yet he still kept hitting. That's not fucking okay.”

“Yeah,” Tony shook his head, “Its not. But I get it. I don’t want to talk about it right now, though, so why don’t you tell me how you like your new school.”

“Okay,” Harley observed his dad, realizing when a conversation wasn’t going to be had, “So, I’ve made friends with this girl Betty. She’s pretty funny and wild, but she’s someone how managed to convince the rest of the school that she’s an angel. Then there’s Flash, who honestly, is a little mean, but I think he’s trying to not be- I told him to stop picking on this kid, Peter, who’s absolutely brilliant and smart and really cute too- but other wise…”

Harley continued talking until Tony fell asleep.   
  


~~ \------ ~~

“Hey dad?” 

Tony froze. He had never heard his son so hesitant, so quiet. It just wasn't like Harley. He turned to him, putting down the new design of Rhodey’s legs, “Yeah kiddo?”    
  
“Can I um,” Harley shifted nervously, “Can we talk about something?”

“Always,” He moved to the couch, motioning for Harley to sit next to him, “Is something wrong? Are you not liking your new school? What’s up?” 

“Um,” Harley looked away from him, and Tony felt… bad. He had tried his best to be a good dad to Harley, tried to make sure that Harley knew he could come to him for anything. Had he failed in that regard? After a moments hesitation, Harley shuffled to sit next to him, still not looking at him, “You know my crush on Spider-Man?”

Tony blinked. He was in fact, very very aware of Harley’s crush on the other boy And he wouldn’t describe himself as over protective in any capacity, but he would admit, the idea of his precious fourteen year old son getting into any relationship was daunting and something he wasn’t prepared for as a dad. His mouth worked faster than his brain, “Of course I do- why? Has he done something? Asked you out? Broke your heart-“ 

“What?” Harley spluttered, “No! No! He doesn’t even know I like him let alone- ugh- that’s not- what I’m trying to say here is, it’s not just Spider-man I like!” 

“Oh?” 

“Dad I don’t really like… girls.” 

Oh.  _ Oh.  _

“Thanks for telling me kiddo,” Tony clasped a hand on his sons shoulder, “I’m really happy you trusted me with this.” 

“You are?” 

“Of course I am. I’ve been known to like a few guys in my time to-“

“Ew, gross. I can’t imagine you with anyone besides Pepper.” 

“Ah What it was to be young.” 

“Also,” Harley’s hands were shaking a little bit, “I um. I wanted to tell you I think I might not be a boy?” 

Tony blinked, “Okay, kiddo, so are you a girl?” 

“No, just kind of… existing,” Harley hesitates for a second, “I found a term I think applies to me: Agender.” 

“Alright, any change in pronoun and do you wanna change your name?” 

Harley blinked at him, mirroring his own actions, “Wait that’s it?” 

“Kiddo,” Tony sighed, patting his shoulder, “You're the light and joy of my life. Your gender never mattered before and it won’t matter now.” 

“Thanks,” He smiles a wiry smile, “I like the name Harley, grown quite attached to it in my fourteen years of being alive. And I wanna use mostly he-him pronouns, just out of a like for the masculine aesthetic, but I also wanna use they-them.” 

“Are you okay with me calling you son or…?” 

“I’d prefer kiddo or bud too son, but I guess?” 

“Kiddo and bud it is.” 

“So you’re really cool with this?” 

“Harley,” his kid looked at him, “I meant it when I said you were the light of my life. The best day of my life happened when you came into it. I don’t care wether you’re a boy, a girl, or agender. I’m not gonna lie and say I completely get it, but I live and breath to support and care for you.” 

Harley pulled him into a tight hug, “Thank you so so much dad.” 

“You’re welcome, kiddo,” He Hugged Harley close, “Does anyone else know about this?” 

“No one, at the moment.” 

“Anyone you wanna tell?” 

“Well…” Harley pulled away, “Maybe Peter Parker? Since he’s got that internship here. I’m defiantly gonna tell Spider-Man eventually. Betty and Flash too. I just.. wanted to tell you first.”

“Okay,” Tony smiled at his kid, all soft edges as he pulled him into a hug. “I love you, Harls.” 

“Love you too, dad.”

“Want some Burger King?”

“Yeah, yeah Burger King sounds perfect.” 

  
  


~~ \----  ~~

  
  


Tony hummed, looking at the feed of Harley’s lab. He had cleared the idea of Peter Parker working in Harley’s personal lab, and had told both Harley and Peter they were in charge of working with Spider-Man and he had told Harley that if he wanted to be Iron Lad he had to get the armor to function on a Tony Stark level without his actual help. 

He expected that the armor would be ready by the end of he week, if not sooner. 

There was something strange about the dynamic between Harley and Peter. Peter- much to his annoyance, and a little bit of his approval- clearly has a crush on Harley. Harley, ever the oblivious, was rambling on and on about Spider-Man, very unaware that Peter was Spider-Man. An interesting dynamic. 

He was glad, that if Harley was going to date anyone, he would date a super hero. Someone with a good moral compass. And truth be told, he actually really liked Peter. The kid was a good kid, smart, kind, friendly, and pretty funny too. 

He hoped that he came off as a sort of a mentor figure to the young hero. He wanted Peter to know that he was here for him, for both of them. 

“Fri,” He called out as Harley blew up one of the prototype web shooters. Both of the kids on screen turned to each other and started laughing hard, “Record this and place it in a new file.” 

“What do you want the file to be called boss?”   
  
“Spiderlad moments. They’ll thank me later.”

He sighed, checking his schedule. He was set to be in India soon, and he was just hoping nothing went wrong. He was also hoping that Peter and Harley would figure out whatever it was they needed to figure out before homecoming. He had a bet with Pepper on it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me what you think!!
> 
> And hit me up @ Peachy-Keener.
> 
> Now time to work on my commisons and trades skskkfhdskjfh


End file.
